The Milan management have used a series of loans and sales to create room for new additions both economically and in squad space, a report has revealed.
La Gazzetta dello Sport report that the signing of Charles De Ketelaere for €32m plus bonuses plus the arrival of Divock Origi on a free transfer is a start but the market is not over as there is still no new midfielder or centre-back.
Aside from new signings, there has been a focus on renewals to consolidate the players who have repaid the club’s faith. Fikayo Tomori could lead the way after renewing until 2027, but Rafael Leao, Ismael Bennacer and Sandro Tonali must now follow with a pay rise.
Then there is the management of young players, with Maldini and Massara having studied a very detailed growth plan. To help their Primavera jewels they have allowed them to go out on loan either in Serie A or Serie B teams.
In general, the aim of the mercato is to avoid crazy expenses and focus on self-financing for purchases functional to the team’s game.
Not taking into account the savings from the non-renewals of Romagnoli (€5.5m net salary last season) and Kessie (€2.2m salary), in addition to the downward renewal of Ibrahimovic (from €7m received to €1m plus bonuses), there have been other exits.
Daniel Maldini’s loan will save around €300k in salary, Mattia Caldara around €2.2m, Samu Castillejo around €1.5m, Lorenzo Colombo about €300k, Marco Nasti about €100k, the same for Marco Brescianini and Frank Tsadjout, Alessandro Plizzari about €300k and Leo Duarte at €900k means Milan managed to save a total of €10,440,000 in gross salary.
If we were to also count the cost of Duarte’s permanent move to Istanbul Basaksehir – who paid €2.2m – we arrive at approximately €12,640,000. Thanks to the Europa League win for Eintracht Frankfurt, Milan got another €3m from the sale of Jens Petter Hauge bringing the total to €15.5m.
There could be further savings, too. Now that Origi has recovered, Marko Lazetic could leave Milanello on loan for a year while Tiemoue Bakayoko’s salary of around €2.5m would be off the books if his second year on loan from Chelsea were terminated early.
The future of Fode Ballo-Touré will also depend on the market (around €1m salary). The Senegal international left-back was bought last summer for €4m by Monaco as a reserve for Theo Hernandez but if suitable offers arrive Maldini and Massara could think of a possible sale.
Last but not least, extra cash on the players front could come from Lucas Paquetà. Although he is no longer a Milan player since leaving for Lyon in 2020, the management obtained a percentage of the proceeds from a future resale. Lyon value him between €60-80m so in the event of a sale Milan would get a sum close to €9-15m.
With a Paquetà sale the total nest egg reaches a potential €40m, without him €25m. It is a considerable sum, which the club will then decide how to use in the last moves of the summer mercato.
